BUN levels are interpreted together with which other measurement to assess renal function?

BUN, or blood urea nitrogen, is a measure of nitrogen in the blood that comes from the waste product urea, which is produced when protein is broken down in the body. To properly assess renal function, BUN levels are often interpreted together with creatinine levels.

Creatinine is a waste product produced from the normal breakdown of muscle tissue and is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. The ratio of BUN to creatinine can provide valuable information about kidney function. For instance, both elevated BUN and creatinine levels can indicate impaired kidney function, but changes in their ratio can help differentiate between pre-renal and post-renal causes of kidney dysfunction.

The other options, such as glucose, electrolytes, and uric acid, while important in their own contexts, do not provide the same direct correlation to kidney function as BUN and creatinine. Glucose is primarily assessed for diabetes management, electrolytes for various bodily functions, and uric acid for conditions like gout, making creatinine the critical measurement to pair with BUN for renal assessment.